Juice Ball returns for 5th year with comic book, cartoon character theme

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – For the fifth year, local chef and Kitchen Sage founder Tommy Fitzgerald is celebrating his birthday with a Juice Ball fundraiser.

From 7 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, Jan. 11, guests are invited to the Comic-Con Juice Ball at the JW Marriott, 235 Louis St. NW. Comic book and cartoon characters make this year’s theme. Previous themes included medieval, big top circus and baseball.

FitzGerald, who also owns Cafe Stella, launched Juice Ball in 2010 as a party to raise money for juice boxes to donate to Kids Food Basket. The fundraiser shifted last year to raising money and informing the public about Fitzgerald’s nonprofit organization, Kitchen Sage. The nonprofit’s goal is to provide access to nutrition and culinary awareness for children in West Michigan.

"Kitchen Sage's mission is to provide an after-school program in an actual kitchen that not only teaches the kids good nutrition but also teaches them real world skills on how to prepare the food,” Fitzgerald said in an interview last year. “Many of the programs, like home economics, which would normally do this, have been cut from public schools' curriculum."

Guests are encouraged to come in comic book or cartoon character costumes. Live entertainment will include Troll for Trout, DJ Casey Cochran and DJ Slim Tim.

Tickets to the 21-and-older event are $30 for general admission in advance. A $75 VIP ticket is available, including access to reserved VIP area, private cash bar, a shot glass, and souvenir gift package. Tickets at the door are $40 (cash and check only). A special overnight rate of $99/room at the JW Marriott is available for guests of the event.